


my youth, in flames

by fau



Category: Blue Lock (Manga)
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:20:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25632715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fau/pseuds/fau
Summary: Isagi finds out that Blue Lock is not what it used to be, and he is not about to sit back and watch his future crumble. Something has to change.
Relationships: Barou Shouei/Isagi Yoichi
Comments: 3
Kudos: 33





	my youth, in flames

Silence. It was the only word used to describe Blue Lock. Sure, there were people in it, the matches kept on going, and people got eliminated. Some people survived. Friendships were destroyed and friendships were born. But day by day, Blue Lock changed. Everyone was aware of it, but no one dared say a word about it. Was it because they were afraid? Hesitant? Or was it because they didn't care? 

Well, it's meaningless, dwelling on questions with no answers. The most reasonable thing to do was to simply ignore. Focus on winning. No time for friendships, no time for memories.

"Become the best striker."

At least, that was what Isagi told himself everytime he caught his mind daydreaming about having a normal life. "It's okay," he thought. "Once I'm out of here, I will have a lot of friends."

These thoughts kept him going, gave him hope. Even after Bachira got eliminated, Isagi didn't fall into depths of despair. Once he won Blue Lock, he would go find Bachira and play with him again. They had promised each other and Isagi wasn't one to leave promises unfulfilled.

That was until he was woken up in the middle of the night. He blinked a few times, trying to see in the dark room. He could make out the lines of a silhouette standing infront of him. He glanced around quickly; his roommates, Barou and Gagamaru, were still sleeping in their beds, so the figure was a stranger.

Just as he opened his mouth to question him a strong hand found its place on Isagi's mouth, forcing him to lay down again.

"Listen to me. Don't ask questions, don't ever try to find out how I got this. Just read it, and do whatever you want with it. Don't screw it up, I don't feel like reshaping your entire face." the figure said, as he placed a letter on Isagi's chest.

Isagi took a moment to process the stranger's voice. It had an untamed tune to it, feral even. It was obvious that whispering was hard for him, he was almost growling while trying to keep his voice down. That, and his tight grip on Isagi's face... The stanger was Raichi without a doubt.

Isagi felt his entire body relax and nodded, he knew Raichi wouldn't hurt him... Well, not much, at least.

Raichi removed his hand and grinned at Isagi's perplexed face, his sharp teeth looking scary in the dark room. He whispered again as he sat on the bed.

"Check out who is it from."

Isagi quickly glanced at the paper, and couldn't believe what he read.

"To: Yoichi Isagi. From: Meguru Bachira."

His hands trembled as he tried to rip the letter open, but Raichi stopped him.

"Read it while I'm gone, I don't want to watch you sob infront of me."

He stood up.

"Also, I'm not doing this for that puffy bangs brat. I'm doing this for Kunigami."

And he left, his steps not even making a sound. Isagi thought Raichi was like a cat as he slipped out the door. He was quiet if he had to be, deadly maybe. 

Isagi began reading the letter.

...

The next morning was a usual one for everyone except Isagi. He couldn't wrap his head around what he read last night. He was shocked, taken aback. But most importantly, his whole being was trembling with rage. 

He didn't speak to anyone that day, he waited silently like a predator waiting to bite into his prey. The only human interaction he got the whole day was from Raichi; a small, ghostly punch. A punch that completed the puzzle inside Isagi's head. A punch that forced little pieces to fit together.

He knew Raichi was with him in this.

...

Finally, lights went off at Blue Lock. The eerie silence awoke, creeping around the halls and looking for little, curious cats to hunt down.

Isagi was the only one in his room. Gagamaru would always disappear at night, so Isagi just assumed that he was practicing while everyone else was sleeping. Barou was still showering, which gave Isagi some time to gather up his courage.

Barou was one of the few people Isagi couldn't read. His deep blue eyes always got stuck on the king's eyes, but he could never dare to look deeper in them. It was almost like he was afraid of getting caught lurking in the other's eyes. "Well," he thought to himself. "I know Barou will be with me on this one."

If there was one thing Isagi knew about Barou, it was his unwavering pride; and what Bachira wrote in his letter was no little matter.

Finally the door opened and Barou walked in, his long hair still wet and falling down to his shoulders. He looked at Isagi with his eyebrow quirked. He talked in a calm tune, his voice as soothing as the surface of a sea at night.

"Why are you not sleeping?"

But his voice was also as deep as the dark water, mysterious and never showing its true colours. This was what made Barou scary; he was always calm but he had a sly look to his face, like he was waiting to devour you at your first wrong move.

Isagi took a deep breath and locked eyes with him.

"I need to talk to you."

"No, I'm not going to let you practice with me again. Quit asking."

He sat on his bed before giving Isagi a chance to answer. Well, everyone in Blue Lock knew Isagi was a stubborn one. He wasn't about to quit just yet.

He sighed, stood up and counted his steps. 

One, two, three. 

He was infront of Barou's bed, who was looking at him with questioning eyes.

"You have to listen to me."

Before Barou could object, Isagi sat down on the the villain king's bed.

Now, if you know Barou you know that he is a clean freak. A clean freak who hates it when people sit on his bed. 

As the surprise in his eyes slowly left its place to anger, he calmly parted his lips.

"I give you three seconds to-"

He was cut short by Isagi shoving something in his arms. He looked down to see a letter.

"What the hell is this?"

He said as he pushed the other boy off of his bed.

"Read it. You won't like it."

Isagi watched Barou's every little mimic as he read the letter. Sitting on the floor, looking up to Barou's face as it resembled a venomous snake more and more with every passing second. This was the first time Isagi watched his face for more than a second. It was also his first time finding his friend handsome.

He blinked a few times, surprised by the thought lurking around in his mind. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes just for a second. This was a puzzle for another time, he had more concerning matters in his hand at that moment.

When Barou finally spoke, the tone of his voice made Isagi shudder. It was like swimming at night. The night breeze was already cold on his skin, and Barou's whisper was like the water, slowly rising up around his body and adding in a new taste of bitterness. Listening to his voice wasn't like going from warm to cold. It was like going from cold to freezing.

"Let me get this straight. Ego's funding got cut two months ago and we didn't know? He is not operating Blue Lock anymore?"

"Right. The other 'supporters' are in charge of Blue Lock right now. Trying their hardest to make it fail, to humiliate Ego and his project. They never understood what he was trying to do, and now they are turning the public against Blue Lock."

"So that's why the challenges were insanely hard, even the dribble freak got eliminated."

"Yeah.. Which means that our future is being toyed around with. Bachira wrote that Blue Lock won't have a winner, and the project will be announced as a 'huge fail'. Everyone who participated in it will be shamed, including us and the other boys. Bachira said not even normal football clubs accept him, after hearing he participated in Blue Lock."

Barou stayed silent for a moment, but his body language gave everything away. Isagi was sure that he could hear the other one's heartbeat, beating with heavy thuds, each one making Barou's body tense up more and more. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, his long hair creating curtains on the sides of his face.

"We were promised a career. A future. A chance to become the best striker in the world. I risked everything, we risked everything. We all gave up our youth just to find our own 'egos'. But everynight when I looked at myself in the mirror, I told my reflection that everything was going to be worth it, i told it to hang in there. I never let my pride waver, not even for a second. I left all my truths behind and became the villain of the court. And all that for what? Just to be shamed? Ostracized from the society? Just so that grown ass men can satisfy their urges to feel superior?"

He opened his eyes and locked them with Isagi's. The blue and the red welcomed each other with rage which resembled a flame, consuming everything within its reach.

"Throwing my normal life away, just to never play football again?"

Isagi didn't answer his question, and Barou didn't want an answer. Isagi merely stood up, now he was looking down at barou. Barou slightly lifted his chin up. 

Isagi placed his hesitant fingers on the villain's shoulder. He did not move them, but he felt Barou tense up again.

"That's why I need your help."

Barou slowly sighed, a painful smile creeping across his face. 

"And that's why I will help you."

He then stood up and went over to his bag. He took a black hairtie and turned to face Isagi. 

The smile on his face was gone, his face covered in shadows. He calmly tied his now dry hair up.

"I will teach those despicable adults that a king is not to be messed with."

(End of chapter 1.)


End file.
